Vincent SV-236MK

I should mention I was helped immensely by another very knowledgeable audiophile and his insight into tube history, manufacture and sonics helped me avoid what would have been a lot more tube rolling. Knowing now which tubes have the most desirable traits for modern gear has made a big difference. Most go after the more mainstream tubes, Telefunken, Amperex, Mullard, RCA, Sylvania etc and they all have their place, but not in the case of the Vincent gear. At least if you prefer a neutral, balanced and very musical sound. Hope this helps!


           

undoubtedly there are better amps than the vincent out there--the pass labs int are great--but you'd probably be looking at significantly more $$ for incremental improvement. i like unplugged's suggestion of upgrading the tubes.

Joining this thread with my eyes on a Vincent SV-236 (non MK) with the all black knobs (no silver accent rings) with all 6 inputs as analog (yes, I will use them all).  I currently use Audio Refinement separates (see system page for details) designed by YBA that is considered to sound quite tube like with a good amount of warmth.  I pair it with some ProAc Studio 148s and this setup beat a Rogue Cronus Magnum head to head (Rogue sounded more solid state to me).  Excited to see what a SV-236 with my modified RP6 can do with those ProAcs.

From what I've read about the Vincent PHO-700 and 701 (hybrid phono preamps), the tube in the audio path was added pretty much as an afterthought (more as a tube buffer instead of the design using the tube in the initial audio signal path) and some have reported the phono stage working without a tube in the socket.  How does this hybrid phono preamp design differ from the SV-236?  I put my Jasmine LP 2.0 mkII phono stage up against a PHO-8 (same preamp without the tube) and the Jasmine was a clear winner.  The Jasmine also beat out the Pro-ject Phono Tube Box with upgraded tubes.

Any input from the following thread posters on the design question I mentioned above?  TIA

@wilhoover @wolf_garcia @unplugged1 @rantzmar @jdlivestrong

I don't own the 236, but my friend's doesn't have a phono section, and he just changed the tubes and thinks the thing sounds brighter. That's all I can offer.